Ephesians 4:22- 5:2 - Monstrous Sins
- Chad Werkhoven
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
You're God's dearly loved child. Be sure not to grieve Him!
Ephesians 4:22–5:2 (NIV)
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
5 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Canons of Dordt
Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints
Article 5: The Effects of Serious Sins
By such monstrous sins [that saints often fall into], however, they
greatly offend God,
deserve the sentence of death,
grieve the Holy Spirit,
suspend the exercise of faith,
severely wound the conscience,
and sometimes lose the awareness of grace for a time—
until,
after they have returned to the right way by genuine repentance,
God’s fatherly face again shines upon them.
Summary
We spent last week sifting through the sad stories of some of the Bible's biggest heroes - men like Abram, Moses, King David and Peter - as a motivation to, as the Canons had put it, constantly watch and pray that we may not be led into temptations. Lord willing, we'll spend the remainder of this week reading about how these men returned to the right way by genuine repentance, so that God’s fatherly face once again shone upon them.
We love to focus upon and dwell in God's grace, and to be reminded that since it's so much stronger than we are, it can pull us out of whatever awful situation our monstrous sins get us into. This is exactly what we'll see this week as we see it at work in the life of Moses, David and Peter!
The fact that our sins are taken away, having been fully paid for the blood of Christ, can cause us to minimize their seriousness and the horrible damage they cause. After all, we might think to ourselves, what's the big deal about sin if Jesus can instantly wipe it away? But that is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
So before we launch back into their stories, we need to be once again reminded of the monstrous effect our sins have - not just the serious sins like what we read of last week, but each and every time we sin (literally: to miss the mark God has set before us).
Dig Deeper
Our article from the Canons this week lists six effects of serious / monstrous sins have on the saints (that's you, by the way). This isn't to say that your minor sins aren't worth worrying about, but that the effects of serious sins wreak more visible havoc - both for God, and for you.
First, serious sins greatly harm the sinner (that's also you, by the way). Such sins:
Deserve the sentence of death - maybe that doesn't seem like a big deal, since we've already learned this year that each of us was conceived and born under a death penalty. But your serious / monstrous sins remind you that you truly deserve this sentence.
Suspend the exercise of faith, severely wound the conscience and sometimes cause you to even lose the awareness of grace for a time. It's no wonder the psalmists write about the bone crushing guilt that serious sins cause.
As awful as those effects are, the Canons also remind that serious sins greatly offend God, and grieve the Holy Spirit. Literally translated, these sins vex, irritate, offend and insult the Holy Spirit! John Calvin explains, "Since the Holy Spirit dwells in us, every part of our souls and bodies ought to be dedicated to him. If we give ourselves over to something that is unclean, then we drive him out of his home."
The Canons don't include this article, nor does Paul include these words, to compound your guilt and crush your bones. Rather, they do so to remind you that you're sealed in the Spirit for the day of redemption, and that God forgave you because Christ loved you and gave Himself up for you as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whom we are created to be like in true righteousness and holiness;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your actions, decisions and speech do not grieve the Holy Spirit;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 9
